Press Release; Good News For Ribble Salmon As Surveys Reveal Promising Response
Record catches of young salmon suggest river restoration work is paying off
There is encouraging news for one of the Ribble’s most iconic and threatened species, as early survey results suggest Atlantic salmon may be making a comeback across parts of the catchment.
Every year, Ribble Rivers Trust surveys more than 300 sites across the Ribble catchment, including the Rivers Ribble, Hodder, Calder, Darwen and Douglas, along with their tributaries. These surveys help build a picture of river health and track the fortunes of fish populations across the region.
The findings so far point to a significant improvement following several years of disappointing returns.
At one survey site, Trust staff recorded more than 100 juvenile Atlantic salmon in just a few minutes. Another site produced its first salmon in more than a decade, and the news is raising hopes that the species is beginning to recover in parts of the Ribble catchment.
Adam Wheeler, Fisheries Officer at Ribble Rivers Trust, said:
“This year’s surveys give us real hope for the future. It’s a cracking bit of news and a reminder that, when rivers are given the help they need to recover, fish quickly respond”
Atlantic salmon were once abundant throughout the Ribble and its tributaries, but populations have declined dramatically in recent decades. Water pollution, barriers to fish migration, climate change, habitat loss and man-made changes to our rivers have all contributed to the species’ decline.
In response, Ribble Rivers Trust has spent the last 25 years working to improve rivers for fish and other freshwater wildlife.
This work has included removing river barriers, opening up culverted watercourses, reconnecting rivers to their natural floodplains, creating riverside woodlands, and restoring vital spawning and nursery habitats.
Jack Spees, CEO at Ribble Rivers Trust added:
“For 25 years, Ribble Rivers Trust has worked to improve our rivers for fish and other freshwater life. While there is still a huge amount of work to do, these early results suggest that targeted, science-led river restoration is paying off”
Recent projects have included large-scale habitat restoration work at Langden Brook, where new spawning gravels have been introduced to improve conditions for salmon and trout. Like many of the Trust’s projects, this work was designed to restore the natural processes that fish depend on throughout their life cycle.
The positive results are especially significant because Atlantic salmon are often considered an indicator species. Healthy salmon populations generally rely on clean water, connected rivers, and high-quality habitats. When salmon thrive, many other species benefit too.
Charlotte Ireland Pope of Ribble Rivers Trust said:
Projects like the gravel restoration work at Langden Brook show that practical, on-the-ground conservation can achieve real results. When combined with our education work in schools and our engagement with communities across the catchment, we’re helping to create rivers that are healthy enough to support abundant wildlife while inspiring people to care about these special places as much as we do.”
Survey work will continue until late September, before adult salmon begin their famous autumn migration upstream to their spawning grounds. There, they will lay the foundations for the next generation of Ribble salmon.
The full survey results will be analysed over the coming months and published early next year.
But if the encouraging trends seen so far continue, 2026 could prove to be a landmark year, with more good news for Atlantic salmon in the Ribble catchment.
BOILER PLATE
WHAT IS AN ELECTROFISHING SURVEY? Electrofishing involves the controlled use of electricity to which slows the fish down. This allows them to be carefully captured, examined, and released unharmed.
One team member wears an electrofishing backpack, which delivers a high voltage charge into the water using two electrodes- an anode and a cathode. When the backpack is triggered near a fish, the electric current affects the fish, causing a minor muscle spasm which is a little like getting cramp. This prompts the fish to swim towards the ring-shaped, pole-mounted anode. A second team member, equipped with a net, stands near the anode to catch the temporarily disoriented fish.
Each fish is identified, measured, and recorded. The process is repeated at over 300 sites across the Ribble Catchment. Ribble Rivers Trust have one of the largest datasets of it’s type in the country.
THE RIBBLE CATCHMENT is the area of land that is drained by the River Ribble and its major tributaries; the Hodder, Calder, Darwen and Douglas. It covers a varied landscape, from the rural hills of the Yorkshire Dales and the source of the River Ribble, to major urban areas of Lancashire including Blackburn, Burnley and Preston.
RIBBLE RIVERS TRUST is a local environmental charity established in 1997 to protect and restore the rivers, streams and watercourses within the Ribble catchment and to raise public awareness of the value of our local rivers and streams.
The Trust use a catchment-based approach to river conservation, focusing on four different factors: water quality, water quantity, habitat health, and habitat connectivity.
These factors are the foundations of a healthy rivers and well-functioning ecosystems and link to the Trust’s key activities of woodland and wetland creation, fish passage, education and engagement, farm advice, habitat improvements, and increased access.
For more information, please contact Charlotte Ireland Pope on 01200 444452 or 07342935865 07342 935865 or visit ribbletrust.org.uk.
